Machine for wrapping articles of a uniform or approximately uniform size and shape



' L. MELLOR MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES OF A UNIFORM OR APPROXIMATELY UNIFORM SIZE AND SHAPE Filed March 23, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 21, 1928. 1,681,492

L. MELLOR 1 MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES 0? A UNIFORM OR APPROXIMATELY UNIFORM SIZE AND SHAPE 7 Filed March 23, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 flTTOR/VEVS.

0R APPROXIMATELY L. MELLOR (2 ARTICLES OF A UNIFORM MACHINE FOR WRAPPIN UNIFORM SIZE AND SHAPE Filed March 23, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 2.2 o .20 F/G4 Aug. 21, 1928.

| MELLOR MACHINE FOR WRAPPING ARTICLES OF A UNIFORM OR APPROXIMATELY UNIFORM SIZE AND SHAPE Filed March 25, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 5/ ii iii 46 A l 44 A 1 8 #3 V I l 22 H l 25 3 3/ 26 O 29 5 I O l 1 9 8 O 50 111:: ifllfl: I :11: If: I LI; 11 30 1 g nwmvrok LEO/W757? MELLOR Patented Aug. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD MELLOR, OF- MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR wnarrmennmrcnns OF A UNIFORM OR APPROXIMATELY UNIFORM 7 SIZE AND SHAPE.

Application filed March as, 1925; Serial in. 17,463, and in Great Britain March 31, 1924.

This invention hasreference to machines for wrapping articles of a uniform or approximately uniform size and shape, and has for its object to provide a machine of improved construction particularly applicable to the wrapping of loaves of bread or "slabs of cake and the like.

According to the invention articles to be wrapped are carried to, and deposited on, the wrapping paper lying on a table or tray, the paper being partially folded around the article by a folder or folders while on the table or tray, the completion of the folding and the sealing of the folded wrapping being effected as the article is automatically moved off and away from the table.

The invention is more particularly set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. .1 is a side elevation of one form of bread wrapping machine ac-.

cording to the invention, Fig.2 is a plan, Fig. 3 is an end sectional viewon the line III-III of Fig. 1, Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrammatic views respectively in elevation and plan of an alternate form offolding plates.

Referringfirst to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the machine is carried by a frame 8, conveniently of tube or rod, and clip constructionwhich facilitates the erection and adjustment.

At one end of the machine, hereinafter referred to as the supply or feeding end, is a tubular cross member 9, supporting two verrying a pawl 26*, the pawl. being normally tical members 10, 11 which are connected by a further-cross member 12. The vertical member 10 has adj ustably mounted on it a table 13 which lies across the machine, and on the other vertical member 11 is a crank 14 carrying a projecting arm 15, longitudinally adjustable thereon, which will encircle the table when the crank is rotated.

The spindle 16 of the aforesaid crank 14 carries a sprocket 17, and a wheel 18 having a notch 19 engaged by a spring actuated pin 20,

i the sprocket '17 being chain'driven from a toothedwheel 21the chain passing over an adjusting idler 21.--freely mounted on an axle'22 carriedby anadjustable bracket 23 on the vertical member 11. On or adjacent to one face of the toothed wheel 21 is a ratchet wheel 24 partly shrouded by a plate 25 fixed on the axle 22. Freely mounted on the axle 22 outside the shroud is a slotted arm 26 carengaged with the teeth of the ratchet wheel, but being lifted therefrom as it rides forward on the plate 25. V

The slotted arm 26 carries a sliding block 27 pivotally connected to an arm 28 adjustably mounted on onemember of anope'rating handle 29, the said operating handle spanning the machine and being mounted at both ends of a shaft 30 passing through the cross member 9, in which it rocks; the rocking movement of the handle 29 being limited by spring bufi'er stops 3l'and 32.

Mounted upon the cross bar of the handle 29 is a folding device comprising two right angled pivoted arms 33 and 34 normally urged open by springs 35, the arm 33 being pivoted on a tubular holder 36 held in;a clip 37 and the arm 34 being mounted on a rod 38 passing into the tubular holder 36, by which arrangement the arms may be adjusted to vary the distance between them.

A paper tray 39-not shown in Fig. 3-'-is carried by supporting bars 40 secured to the cross member 12.

Also secured to the cross member 12 and extending toward the opposite end of the machine are two parallel bars 'or rods 41, supported toward their end by a bracket adj ustable on a vertical member 42.

Mounted upon the bars or rods 41 are two brackets 43, 43 each supporting a central pillar 44. The pillars have two holes running transversely of the machine and a hole running longitudinally thereof, and at the top the pillars have cross arms 48 which act as supports for the bottom of the member or members above.

Passing through the longitudinal hole in the pillars 44 is a rod 49 carrying a plurality of brackets 50 which support the bottom of a heating element and deliveryelement'to be described later. The upper transverse holes carry cross rods 51 on which are slidably mounted pillars or supports 52 having holes at their lower ends adapted to align wlth the lower transverse holes in the pillars 44, and through which pass rods 54 having left and righthanded screw threads which rods, when turned as by the hand wheels 46 will move the pillars or supports 52 to and from the pillars 44. V v

The bottom 55 of the heating element and the bottom 56 of the delivery and sealing element are as already stated, mounted on brackets 50, the two parts and 56 being secured together but heat insulated from each other. Extending from the heating element toward the supply end of the machine is a member which effects the final folding of the wrapping, and this member is formed by two main portions each having a bottom plate 57 and a slotted side plate 58, each side plate 58 having a separate adjustable member or at tachmcnt 09 with a tongue (30, the members 9 being perfectly bell mouthed asshown more particularly in the plan.

The bottom plates 57 are carried by brackets 61, pivotally mounted on the slidable pillars or supports 52, which brackets when turned will move the bottom plates 57 and hence the side plates o8 to and from each other. The plates are pulled toward each other by spring 62 attached to lugs (33, which lugs have adjusting screws bearing against horns 65 springing from the pillars 52 by which arrangement the tension of the springs 62 and the distance apart of the plates 57 and 58 is regulated.

The bottom plates 57 are isolated from the bottom 55 of the heating element, but the side plates 58 are connected to, though heat insulated from, side plates 66 of the heating element, these in turn being hinged to side plates 67 of the delivery and sealing element which are carried at their outer ends on pivoted brackets 68 similar to the brackets 61 at the other end, the plates 67 being pulled toward one another by a spring or springs, which may be tensioned in some convenient manner or may be comparatively weak and just suiticient to effect a slight resistance to any pressure tendingto move the plates apart.

The bottom plate 55, and the'sid'e plates 66 of the heating element are provided with electrical heating devices 69, whereby the 7 plates may be raised to the desiredtemperature for effecting the sealing.

In operation a sheet of waxed paper is laid on thetable 13 and a loaf of bread or some other .article is laid thereon. The handle 29 is brought forward, thus rotating the arm 15 which comes up under the paper and sweeps it round the loaf leaving the edge of the paper hanging down between the table 13 and the plates 57. As the arm 15 leaves the paper and is checked and held by the spring actuated pin 20 engaging the slot 19 in the wheel 18, the folding device on the handle engages the loaf, the projecting arms 33 and 34 force the rear edge of the paper against the ends of the loaf, and the pressure of theback portions on the leaf closes the armsagainst the pressure of the springs 35, and thus the loaf is lightly gripped by the side member and held in position. The continuation of the movement of the handle 29 pushes the loaf off the table 13 and on to the plate 57, this action folding the free and hanging end under the loaf used. Similarly,

outside the paper on which the leaf stands. Still further movement brings the leading edges of the paper against the members 59 of the side plates, which edges are turned in over the folds made by the arms 33 and 34;, and as the loaf continues to move forward, the extensions 60 hold the side folds in place, and finally the top and bottom projecting edges of the paper are respectively folded down and up against the ends of the leaf by the edges of the slots in the side plates 58. The loaf which is carried part of the way by the pressure of the handle, and after that by the pressure of other partially wrapped loavesbeing forced along behind is forced with the paper folded around it, through the heating element where the wax is softened, and the paper is'sealed by the pressure of the sides 66 and 67 as the leaf is passed to the delivery end.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 which illustrate side and bottom plates respectively, used for folding both the top and bottom end flaps underneath the leaf, or the top flap down the end of the loaf and the bottom one below, the top flap of the partially folded paper, which flap is long enough to reach down the side and turn under the loaf, if this fold is required, owing to additional width of the paper, is turned down against the edge 68 of the plate, and the bottom flap is turned down by the edge 69.

The flaps now turned down against the ends of the loaf project through the slots 70 between the edges of the bottom plate 71 and the side plates 7 2, and as the loaf moves forward these turned down flaps are folded under the leaf as they are pressed against the ed cs 73 and7 1 of the slots in the base plate. lo allow 'for the side adjustment and movement of the side plates 72, without spoiling the under folding, horns 7 5 and 76 are provided on the bottom plate which project through slots 77 in the side plates, this arrangement ensuring-that outward movement of the'side plates shall not allow the downwardly turned flaps to pass the edges 71 and 72 of the botvertically, they may be otherwise shaped or may be inwardly inclined toward the top, or may bemade in two parts, an upper and a lower, the upper part being hinged to the lower and inwardly inclined, to effect pressure on a loaf which may have sloping ends.

The invention has been described with reference to an embodiment in which the wrapping paper is carried in sheets in a tray from which it is passed to the table, but if desired any known suitable method of supplying paper from a roll and feeding it to the table cut into required lengths may he the article to be wrapped inay be fed to the machine by suitable conveying and delivery mechanism.

While the invention has been described with reference to a machine intended for wrapping bread, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this purpose, the principle beingadaptable to the wrapping of other articles, such as slabs of cake, pies or any article of more or less regular shape and size which it is desired to wrap. It is obvious, however, that various minor modifications may have to be, made to accommodate the invention to any particular pur pose, and when more or less fragile articles are to be wrapped it is possible that damage would ensue if the articles .are pushed along one behind the other, even though the pressure thereon were only slight. To obviate this possibility as the partially wrapped article is moved off the table, or at any other subsequent point of its travel, it may be passed to a conveyor, preferably a spaced conveyor which will carry the articles along independently of any pressure behind, preferably such a conveyor would come into operation after the sealing has been effected.

Instead of using waxed paper for wrapping the articles which entails the useof heating elements, unwaxed paper or other suitable material may be used, which is sealed by applying adhesive thereto, and for this purpose suitable adhesive applying mechanism may be fitted to the machine instead of the heaters.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a machine for wrapping articles a support for an article and wrapper and means including a rotary folding arm adapted to substantially encircle said support and article during rotation thereof for folding a wrapper around an article.

2. In a machine for wrapping articles a support for an article and Wrapper, means including a rotary folding .arm adapted to substantially encircle said support and article during rotation thereof for folding a wrapper around an article and additional means for sealing the ends of the folded wrapper.

3. In a machine for wrapping articles a support for an article and wrapper, means including a rotary folding arm adapted to substantially encircle said support and article during rotation thereof for folding a wrapper around an article and resilient adjustable means for sealing the folded wrapper.

4. In a machine for wrapping articles, a wrapper support, a rotary folder, and a pivoted rocking member adapted to actuate said folder to cause it to substantially encircle said support to fold a wrapper around said article.

5. In a machine for wrapping articles, a wrapper support, a rotary folder, a pivoted rocking member adapted to actuate said folder around said support, a pawl controlled by said member and a ratchet wheel controlled by said pawl.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

LEONARD MELLOR. 

